Sunday, October 29, 2006

Honestly, I thought it would never get finished. I'm such a plotter, and this book refused to be plotted. I tried. I really did. But like some character from a Stephen King novel, the story took on a life of its own and just laughed and flipped me the finger whenever I tried to force it a certain direction.

I can remember when the idea for the book first came to me. It was in Reno during the RWA conference. A bunch of us had gone to Circus Circus to eat dinner and I was wearing my special Bunco bracelet (a silver flexi kind of thing that has little martini glasses and dice charms hanging off it). I remember sitting in the taxi cab and playing with the little charms and thinking about my bunco group and it all sort of came rushing out.

That night, while spewing the idea out to Mel, she helped me come up with the title (which also pays homage to my sort of love-affair-obsession with the film, Bull Durham).

So while it's far from readable, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I actually know what happens now:) I figure it will take about 2 months to come up with a readable copy to give to my fabo cp's, but I'm so excited (and more than a little relieved!)

Monday, October 16, 2006

But it's not their opinion that matters. It's yours. It's the voters who decide who will win the contest and become the next American Title winner and have their book published by Dorchester.

Over the last ten days, the American Title 2 finalists have been posting interviews with the AT 3 finalists on the Title Wave blog.

It was a hard choice to make. The entries are all fabulous. But I picked one and voted. It's simple, just go here, read the entries and vote. Voting will continue on until October 29. Then the two entries with the lowest votes will be eliminated and a second round will begin.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I had just settled into work the other night when I get a call from Mike Geraci. That, in itself, is a little scary. In the 21 years we've been married, I can probably count the number of times my husband has called me at work on one hand.

Mike: Hey (said weakly)Me: Oh my God, what's wrong?Mike: (long pause) I'm in an ambulance. They're taking me to the ER.Me: What happened? Were you in a wreck? (breathing a sigh of relief. If he was in a wreck, then it must not be too bad if he can talk on the phone, right?)Mike: No, I just got a little dizzy and they're bringing me in.

Translation: His blood pressure was sky high and he almost passed out.

Now, my husband has never been diagnosed with high blood pressure. But, he also hasn't been to the doctor in the past year. He's one of those men who only goes to the doctor when he's on his death bed. So apparently, his BP has been creeping up and now it's slapped him in the face. The fact that he drinks a pot of coffee a day, is about 30 lbs overweight, and runs 5 miles one day, then does nothing for 2 weeks. has finally caught up to him. Not to mention all those cigars he smokes on the golf course. And except for the cigars and the pot of coffee (I'm just a half a pot a day girl) I'm guilty of all the above and more.

So, Mike's little ER scare has been a big wake up call to us both. We aren't as young as we used to be. We have 3 kids, a huge mortgage payment and college and braces... and you get the rest.

Time for the Geracis to make some big lifestyle changes.

PS. The only bright note in the ER visit was that, luckily, I had a book with me! (I keep the current book I'm reading in my bag at all times, cuz, you just never know) Anyhoo, I finished "Ex and Single Girl" and I loved it! After Mike had been given all these drugs, he went to sleep for about 3 hours while we waited for test results to come back, and I think I would have gone crazy if it wasn't for having something great to read. Proving yet again, that romance writers do make a difference in the world, right?

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

In less than 2 weeks, the American Title III contest will be in full swing. For those of you who don't know, American Title I was won by Janice Lynn and her fabulous Jane Millionaire. And in January, Gerri Russell's The Warrior Trainer will hit the bookshelves.

Starting in just a few days, the Title Wave blog will run exclusive interviews with the American Title III finalists. Check out these awesome titles:

And on a more personal note: KIA progress: 10 pages yesterday (woo hoo!)

Kristen asked me what KIA stood for (great question, btw). The KIA marathon is in honor of a former RWA Online member, Kia Cochran, who died of breast cancer. And since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it's the perfect time to host it.